William homan



W. HUMAN.

ADVERTISING GIRGULAR.

Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

NNIJNN... QW 211m...

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT Erica.

VILLIAM HOMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ADVERTISING-CIRCULAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,889, dated April 13, 1886.

Application filed yAugust 28, 1885. Serial No. 175,598.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM HoMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement relating to Advertisiug-Circulars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is adapted for advertising 1n cases where a response is solicited or expected from the parties addressed.

I will describe the invention as made to conform to existing regulations controlling mail-matter.

I provide for sending a message, either printed or written, in one direction and carrying on the same card a coupon which, on being separated, may be sent back with the return address printed or written thereon.

Under present Post-Office rules written matter cannot be carried for onecent on any card, except those officially issued by the Government; but printedmatter may be sent on cards, printed by the advertiser or by others, and of any convenient size or style.

rlhe following is a description of what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of the specification.

Figures l and 2 show the two faces of the circular as it is intended to be made and sold. Fig. 3 shows the same side as Fig. 1, but with an advertisement printed thereon. Fig. 4 shows the same side as Fig. 2. In this figure the circular is supposed to have been sent to the address thereon. Figs. 5 and 6 show opposite sides of the detached coupon. In Fig. 5 the coupon is supposed to have been returned.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

For convenience of description, I will designate the two divisions of the card by the letters A B. The same letters will designate the respective front faces of those parts, the back faces being designated by the marks f' B', respectively. A single card of preferably rectangular form and of suitable size is by a line of perforations, m, formed for division into two parts, A and B. The part A is illustrated as larger than B 5 but this may be (No model.)

varied. On the face A B, which I will call the back side of the card, the address is written to which the advertiser wishes to send the card. Ordinarily this is written on the face B. There is no printing or other writing on this entire back face, A I5. A one-cent stamp is to be affixed upon this back face, preferably on the face A', for a reason which will presently appear. 4Vlith this exception the faces Al B are blank. On the other face, AB, which I call the front side, is printed the address of the advertiser on the part B, which in practice is the coupon, and this face also is designed to carry a two-cent postagestamp, and has a place, C, properly marked ou which such shall be aflixedby the customer; or the advertiser may affix the two-cent stamp upon the place C before posting the card for its initial trip. rlhe face A carries an advertisement in which, among other information which the advertiser wishes to communicate, may be a brief description of how the detachable part or coupon constituting the returncard is to be used.

The manner of using the device is as follows: The entire card, composed of the two parts A B before their separation, is placed in the mail by the advertiser and is forwarded` 8O ,by the postal service to the address of the customer written on the side A. The recipient or customer separates the parts A and B by cutting or tearing along the line m., and rejecting the part A, or preserving it for future reference, lie deposits in the mail the part or Coupon B. This coupon,when separated from the part A, becomes an independent mailable card. It will now be seen why lt is preferable to place the one-cent postage-stamp, which serves to pay the outward journey, on the face A instead of the face B. Its absence leaves a larger space available for useful writing on the Coupon for the return journey.l lt will be obvious that there should be an additional special signature if an order is writ-ten on the coupon involving much responsibility-as, for example, an order for a large amount of goods.

It has become customary for dealers in nearly every branch of trade to announce at the beginning of the different seasons of trade an opening exhibition of new goods, to which they invite customers and exclude as far as possible competitors. A printed card of incent stamp is not required. The card pre!v vitation is too easily transferable to exclude objectionable parties; but a card bearing theA Written name of the customer in a familiar handwriting and the printed naine and address of the advertiser presents asafer means of identification or indorsement. My coupon B may be thus used, and in such case the twosented is not a postal-card, nor is it a double postal-card, nor a return-envelope. It is not designed to inclose anything, nor is it as it is issued or sent anything more or less than an advertising-circular.

-The novelty and importance of my invention consist in so constructing an advertising card or circular that a customer ina-y utilize a part of the card and of the advertisementas a means to conveniently and readily conimunicate with the advertiser.

ent, and provided with a detachable return- What I claim as new, and desire to secure 2o by Letters Patent, is-

An advertising-card for distribution by mail, printed on its face and having a space on its back for the name and address of the recipicoupon having the name of the sender thereon and blank spaces to receive a return-message, as set forth, for the purpose specified.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New Yorkand State of New York, this 26th 3o day of August, A.`D. 1885. Y

WILLIAM HOMAN.

NVitnesses:

M. F. BoYLE, H. A. JoHNsToNE. 

